Volta
by KShade
Summary: In Petrarchan Sonnets the Volta is the last six lines; a turning point. Turns out it's the same thing in the life of a Poet Laureate. Neferet corners Loren at the end of Chosen on the East Wall. "Killing him was purely a professional decision for more power, this was her personal revenge on a man who hurt her. " T for character death.


**Yay! Random oneshot time! I'm in a roleplay, and I got the inspiration for this scene from the lovely people I RP with, primarily Neferet_hon_ She is amazing to rp with, and any of you with instagram, you should follow. Volta—sidebar, is the turning point in Petrarchan Sonnet, the last six out of fourteen lines.**

_Set in Chosen, just after Loren runs to find Zoey._

Loren could feel Zoey through the imprint, and the emotions he was getting from her were… well, betrayal, hurt, that sort of thing. He figured he'd write a poem on it. _Bodies and sorrows intertwine/ my pleasure yours, your pain mine…_ It sounded good, so far. Now, he just wanted it to stop. He wanted Zoey to be okay, and admittedly, he hated this feeling.

He rounded the corner, sighing and going through the trapdoor off campus. Zoey may have left campus, after all, she sure didn't want to see either of them. Loren wasn't sure he wanted to see himself, let alone Neferet. Not now that he was feeling the ramifications of what they'd done. They'd played with the poor fledgling's heart. _Circumstances all arranged/ this wicked game's rules have changed._ He wondered where that left Zoey. Where that left them.

As he rounded the corner to the East Wall, he shivered. This was where Professor Nolan was killed. He'd never liked coming down here anyways, but he'd seen Zoey here before. It would only be logical for Zoey to be here. He didn't know what to say or how to apologise, but he was a poet. He'd figure it out.

Neferet knew she has to kill him. She could no longer trust him. He was imprinted to that damned child. He _loved _her. _Another man who leaves me when I need him,_ she thought, _it's becoming almost predictable. _She ignored the pang that this caused her, both from the recent betrayal, and the ones she'd endured in her past life. She buried those feelings to concentrate on the task at hand. Her dark angel would reward her for the sacrifice.

Almost instantaneously, Loren felt something. It was like the air changed. Like there was just an aura of menace to the area. He wondered if his mind was playing with him, or if something was going on. Loren whirled around, searching for something behind him. When he turned around, he saw the imposing figure of his lover. Damn it. Her eyes looked almost aflame with some emotion. Loren assumed that she too, was hurt by his leaving.

Neferet smirked when Loren gasped at her appearance. She never did get revenge on Arthur, was it so wrong for her to be a little theatric now? Well, in the eyes of _Nyx_ Neferet was sure it was, but she didn't care what the goddess thought of her actions. Concealing her true intentions, she asked "Loren, what are you doing?" the words came out more blunt than she'd intended, so she covered her anger up by saying, "you took off much too soon, love, I was not done with you." The word 'love' hurt her a little, knowing what she's about to do, but she reminded herself that he loved Zoey now. He couldn't love her and Zoey.

Loren was positive Neferet would be angry with him, but instead, she seemed only disappointed. Loren smirked internally; he must be really good to have that kind of effect on Neferet. He only tried to put on a sage expression, quite a feat for a man who wasn't much older than twenty-five, "We're imprinted, Neferet, I have to," he omitted the feelings he was developing. No need to hurt Neferet's feelings if she was in love with him. He loved her too, it was just that Zoey was… different. _My love so young and naïve/to fall for lies even I believe_. What was it about her that made him begin to believe in his own lies? But to convince his other lover that he had no feelings whatsoever for her enemy, he added conspiratorially, "and her pain isn't so fun for me, either."

Neferet wouldn't have even believed him had she not been in his mind the entire time. Testing Loren's loyalty further, Neferet reminded him, "Zoey Redbird is nothing to me," she paused for a moment, "she's nothing to _us, _right? This is only to lessen your own pain?" Neferet almost wished that he would say yes and mean it. She knew he wouldn't by his thoughts, but she could hope, could she not? No. She knew what she'd come here to do. She would do it. Loren started to speak, but she cut him off, knowing he was going to lie, "you do have feelings for her," she said softly. Killing him was purely a professional decision for more power, this was her personal revenge on a man who hurt her. She forced a tear out, hoping that he still loved her enough that it hurt him. He betrayed her. He was no better than Arthur.

Loren regretted her sadness. He had never intended to hurt anyone, and now he had broken the hearts of both his lovers. He decided that he was done with lying, so he chose a favourite of his poetic devices, ambiguity. "Not like I have for you, my love," he responded. It was true. What he felt for Neferet was a lusty, worship-like love; his feelings for Zoey were simpler, more innocent. He cared about her. He pulled Neferet into his arms, "you will always be my Priestess, my love." He omitted that Zoey would probably remain as his girlfriend, his other love.

Neferet picked up on his omissions. _Ambiguity,_ she thought, _serves only those whose minds are safe. _Anger welled up inside her, and she let it this time. She would give Loren one last chance. One last question that would determine his fate. "As you would be my consort, Loren, but now it is time for you to choose. You can be hers or mine." Neferet looked at him with sorrow in her voice, because she knew what she was going to do, and hope in her eyes, that he would prove her wrong. Hoping that he wasn't another Arthur. There had to be something poetic about the two contradictory emotions, Hope and sorrow. It was a paradox.

Loren saw that paradox, as well as another. The way anger shut Zoey down, and fired Neferet up. That had to fit into his poem. _A paradox of fire and ice/ of hope and sorrow in her eyes. _He sighed, knowing Neferet's words were an ultimatum. Finally, he brought himself to speak, to reason with her. "Neferet, we cannot break it. That kind of pain could—" _kill her._ He felt another pang realizing what he inflicted on her human boyfriend. Surely Neferet wouldn't want someone dead. "It'll fade. It has nothing to hold it. No emotion," Loren lied.

Neferet had heard all she needed to. "You are a liar, Loren," she accosted him. "You love her. I knew you were not capable of doing this simple task for me, but I had no choice," she felt more hurt knowing he lied to her. He was no better than Arthur. She had never killed Arthur, so she was going to enjoy this, in spite of the pain of betrayal. She called Darkness to her, the elusive pull of Kalona's power lending her the ability to kill her lover in the most fitting way she could think of. Pulling the scared-looking Loren in, she kissed him, forcing the Darkness into his body. "Good bye, Loren," she said, watching as the Darkness enters his body, and imagined the pain he must be in, the pain Zoey must have been in.

The pain that Loren experienced was incomparable. He'd never felt anything that could be like a fraction of this. It was like an electric current running through his body. It was like he was on fire. _She leaves with me a killer's kiss/ the agony is all there is. _He flailed, trying to shake the agony, losing coherent thought as it grows stronger. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. He was going to die screaming, but he wouldn't be heard.

Neferet only watched, while a part of her screamed at her to do something, that Emily side of her that couldn't bear to watch. The Tsi Sgili cheered, loving the way Neferet had planned it, how she'd killed him so inventively. Neferet, well, Neferet just felt betrayed all over again, and never again wanted to have to face the man who betrayed her. This worked out for her, but she was not yet so far gone as to enjoy the murder like the Tsi Sgili.

Loren looked at her, trying to plead. She just shook her head at him. As the agony subsided, being replaced by a creeping numbness, he wondered if he'd ever been more than a willing slave to Neferet. She had never loved him, that much was clear. _A new realization dawns/ I was never more than a pawn. _As his vision went black, and the last of the physical pain was replaced with a creeping numbness, he was reminded of Zoey. She had been with him in that agony. All he'd been in her life was pain. He felt awful for doing it.

As he regained sight, he realized he was in a meadow. Before him stood a woman so beautiful, he had no words to describe her. That's where he finished his sonnet, before Nyx. _The Goddess stands before me in all her glory/ but all I have to say is…_

"_I'm sorry._"

**So, yeah, Petrarchan Sonnet. Worked into a fanfic. Cause I'm cool. So, did anyone before me notice all the similarities between Loren Balke and Arthur Simpton?**


End file.
